Any recommendations for a moving coil that has some speed, excellent top end extension, an EVEN tonal balance, a hall perspective of row five to row fifteen from the front stage and a retail price tag not above $2000 ?

I would look at the Helikon as well. I have a Lydian B and think it fits the bill but they are no longer made. They did replace it with a new model that I can't name right now but I belive it's 1200.00 look at the Lyra website.I belive it's Immedia.com

Dear Nsgarch: That's the same what I think till I try ( all them ) on others tonearms that make a better match.

+++++ " If that is what you hear, then you need to check your system. Something is not right I think. Let me know if I can help you out. " +++++

Tks for your offer. I have no problems with my system, the issue is that there are others tonearms that make a better match with those cartridges, that's all.I'm not saying that those cartridges can't work with a SME tonearm. No, it can but there are better alternatives.

Dougdeacon: You state "The ZYX Airy 2-X-SB meets your description almost perfectly...The Airy 3 and UNIverse do not have that distant a hall perspective, so you can avoid them." Didn't you mean to say they DO have that distant a hall perspective, but the ZYX Airy 2 does not, and therefore would be more to my liking ?

Of the three top ZYX's, the Airy 2 has the most distant hall perspective. Something like rows 5-10, obviously somewhat subjective and always dependent on the recording.

The Airy 3 puts you closer. Front row to podium is typical. This is due to its more extended top end and to its generally more free and open character.

The UNIverse puts you wherever the microphones were. Its noise floor is far lower than its lesser cousins, so it reproduces very low levels of information. You don't just hear orchestra members turning pages, you hear them breathing. Yet at the same time you hear hall echoes clearly delineated from the direct sound of the instruments. On a good record this simultaneous sense of intimacy with the musicians within a large, clearly depicted soundstage can be almost uncanny.

Dougdeacon...At rows 5 to 10, the Airy 2 is the most distant sounding ? I'm not making fun of your statement, I'm just sort of amazed ! Rows 5 to 10 are pretty close to things. To echo the old cliche, "it's all relative" ; that is, to the other two cartridges. No wonder I thought you may have unintentionally erred in your earlier staement. In any event, all very interesting. I'll have to take a more serious look here. Thank you.

They all have 'speed'--Don't know anything about seating row positioning, except laid back vs. forward presentation--And the trade-in price I paid still leaves me woozy since it's the most I've ever paid for a cart, and it only has 60 hrs on it, and it's in "only" a SME 309 w/o damping, but the sumiko celebration is certainly the best I've had. Aural memory disclaimer here. (I waited 50 hrs - after a functional check - before listening).

Upside-Dynamics. Soft is soft, and loud is loud.TB. W/ Alnico magnets, she loves electric instruments, and she really loves guitar amps. Other wise, very realistic timbre on acoustic instruments.Channel balance/cantilever alignment. First rate.Musicality. First rate. She'll pull you in, and you'll run through a whole side.Packing. I thought I hated extravagence, but there's a cool surprise inside the cardboard box. Top flight stainless hex-head cap screws. The 27 pg. owners booklet was written in the US and in american english. No 10 other translations available in this one. It's a reference standard in installation and setup.Nits. On the occasional record, and on the occasional track, she can be a little "barky" or "shouty" in a narrow frequency range in the upper mids/ presence range on dynamic passages.. Not even worried at this point... tuning, software, even the ginko cloud under the vpi is suspect.